Powerful (The Driven World) - Kathleen Kelly Page 0,70
The only thing that’s changed is I now have locks on my door, and I see shadows everywhere.
And this incredible sense of loneliness has crept into my soul. Mom, Dad, TB, and Ashlea take turns on the weekends taking Mr. Livingston to see Kris, but I don’t go.
My fault.
The engagement ring is in my jewelry box. Occasionally, I take it out and admire the beauty and love what it represented, but that love is now tarnished by my past.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kris
The light is so bright. I open my eyes and shut them again, only to try and look through them half-open. My throat feels weird, and as I reach up, there’s something on my face.
“He’s awake!” yells someone.
A man leans over me, his eyebrows drawn together. “It’s okay, Mr. Livingston, someone is coming.” He tilts his head, so I’m staring at his chin as he talks to someone else. “He’s awake.”
“Move,” says another voice.
A woman stands over me. “Kris, I’m Dr. Elizabeth Young. We’re so happy you’re awake. You’ve got a tube down your throat. It was helping you breathe. I’m going to remove it, but I need to undo a few things first.”
“He’s awake?” asks someone I can’t see.
“Yep, let’s get this tube out of him.”
Another female face comes into view and smiles, then the tube is pulled out of my throat. I cough and splutter as it comes out of my mouth. My throat is sore, they press a button, and the bed moves into an upright position.
“Don’t try to speak,” orders Dr. Young.
She thrusts a cup of water at me, and I gratefully take a sip. Looking around the room, there’s the doctor, a nurse, and a big guy, but I don’t know any of them.
“A-Athena?” I whisper.
The doctor glances at the nurse then back to me.
“Kris, you’ve been asleep for a long time. Don’t try to speak, give it time.”
Shaking my head, I ask in a whisper, “How long?”
“Ten weeks.”
With a shaking hand, I reach up and touch my head. The movement is jerky, and my body feels alien to me.
“Take it slow. Your body will have to learn how to do everything again.” I scowl at the doctor, and she repeats herself, “Take it slow.”
My arm falls back on the bed. I clench and unclench my hand, and the movement isn’t fluid. I scowl at it. The doctor moves the sheet, exposing my leg, takes a pen out of her pocket and runs it up the sole of my foot. My body jerks in response.
“Good.”
“Athena,” I whisper, and the word grates on my throat.
“How about we call your father?”
I’m so tired, but the one thing I know is I want Athena. I shake my head and try to speak again.
“Okay, Kris, we get it, you want Athena.”
The doctor looks at the nurse, and she gives her a slight shake of her head. I don’t understand why Athena isn’t here, but she’s the only one I want to see.
“Don’t.” Both look at me. “Tell anyone I’m a-awake.”
“Kris, your family will want to know.”
I shake my head, close my eyes, and fall back asleep.
***
Two days later, and I wake up again. The same big man is in the room positioned near the door reading.
“Hey,” I whisper, and my throat doesn’t feel as sore.
He looks up and smiles. “Hello, Mr. Livingston, I’m Clive.” He gets up and moves toward my bed. “You’re probably wondering who I am.” I nod. “I was hired by Gabby Turner. There are four of us, and we work on six-hour shifts to make sure fans or press don’t sneak in here to snap a picture of you and to ensure you are safe. We work for a company called Triple Threat Security.”
I nod, it makes sense to hire a security company.
“Athena?” I ask.
“She’s not here. I asked one of the nurses about her. Your Athena hasn’t been here for some time. The nurses like to gossip, they said she went home.”
I shake my head as none of what he said makes sense. “She wouldn’t.”
Clive shrugs and looks at the floor then up at me. “Your dad will be here on Friday. He normally brings visitors, too. So, you can ask them.”
“What day is it?” My throat burns, and Clive picks up a cup with a straw in it and puts it to my mouth. The liquid soothes my throat.
“It’s Thursday.”
“Take me home.”
Clive frowns and shakes his head. “Not sure I can do that, Mr. Livingston.”
“It’s Kris, take me to Athena.”
Clive’s lips turn down, and